Game Recaps

Freshman Kody Milton, one of the Terps’ freshman infielders, stepped onto the mound in the eighth inning on Wednesday. This time, Milton wasn’t there to support his pitcher––he was the pitcher. Maryland’s 12-4 lead allowed the Terps to turn to Milton with the hope of saving some bullpen arms. He did just that and shut down the Phoenix with two strikeouts and a fly out.

Maryland’s offense dominated on Wednesday, defeating Elon 12-4 in North Carolina to sweep the two-game series.

The offense made an immediate impact in the first inning, loading the bases for A.J. Lee with two outs. Lee walked in a run, and consecutive two-run singles from juniors Sebastian Holte-Mancera and Caleb Walls gave Maryland an immediate 5-0 lead. With that, the Terps chased Phoenix starting pitcher Daniel Albrittain from the game after just two-thirds of an inning. Right-hander Adam Spurlin entered in relief.

Following the first, Taylor Wright led off the second inning with a single. After a ground out from freshman Maxwell Costes moved him to second, Wright reached third on a passed ball and eventually scored on another ground out from catcher Justin Vought, giving the Terps a 6-0 lead.

The offense continued to roll in the third inning as sophomore Randy Bednar drove in two more runs with a double. Then, after Bednar stole third, Wright singled him home and the Terps extended their lead to 9-0.

Meanwhile, Maryland starter Tuck Tucker put up a dominant start, keeping pace with the Terps’ offense. Through four innings, Tucker allowed no runs, no hits, and walked just one, giving his offense the opportunity to break the game open.

Elon eventually got on the board with a solo home run from first baseman Joe Satterfield to start the fifth, breaking up Tucker’s no-hit bid. However, Tucker settled back down, retiring the next three batters to get out of the inning. Freshman Sean Heine relieved Tucker to start the sixth.

Maryland’s offensive outburst continued in the sixth inning, as Tommy Gardiner put up a two-run single. Holte-Mancera, who moved to third on Gardiner’s single, then scored on a passed ball to make it 12-1. The Terps challenged the Phoenix pitching staff all day, as even in innings when they did not score they put together solid at-bats and placed runners on base.

Elon scored once in the sixth inning off of Heine and twice in the bottom of the seventh inning against reliever Sean Fisher, making it 12-4, but the Phoenix rally was too little too late as the Terps cruised to victory in the late innings.

Maryland improved its record to 12-8, while Elon drops to 11-10. The Terps look to continue this offensive surge and win streak in their upcoming series against Creighton (8-5).

An offensive explosion complimented by smart base running lifted Maryland over the Elon Phoenix on Tuesday. After falling victim to a perfect game on Sunday against East Carolina, the Terps landed at least one man on base in all nine innings to secure a 11-4 win.

Maryland went hitless in its matchup on Sunday against ECU, but ended the theme early on Tuesday, securing five hits through the first two innings, totaling 15 hits on the day. Catcher Justin Vought, who went 0-9 over the weekend, got a hit in his first at-bat and two more later in the game.

Senior AJ Lee earned three hits, with his second one coming at a great time. After a comeback by Elon where the Phoenix took the lead away from the Terps, the shortstop delivered a two RBI double to break things open, giving Maryland a 7-4 lead in the seventh. Then, in the eighth, Lee belted his first home run of the season for his fourth RBI of the day.

Caleb Walls, with four hits on the day, extended the early lead for Maryland with a two RBI inside-the-park home run in the second, making it 3-0. Later, in the seventh, Walls delivered another big hit where he brought in Maryland’s eighth run of the afternoon. He followed Lee in the eighth inning with a home run of his own, his second of the day, giving him four RBIs in the game.

On the other side of the ball, Mark DiLuia made his first start of the year, where he fanned three batters in 2.1 innings of work, conceding one earned run. A bullpen heavy day for the Terps featured freshmen Daniel O’Connor and Will Glock. Together, they went 4.2 innings as Glock struck out three and did not give up a hit.

Elliot Zoellner also contributed to the Terps’ cause on the mound, striking out three in one inning to set up Billy Phillips in the ninth. The southpaw came in, struck out two and secured Maryland’s first win in a week heading into Wednesday’s matchup against the Phoenix.

After striking out Kody Milton for the final out of the game, East Carolina left-hander Jake Kuchmaner turned to his dugout, gently pumping his fists in the air and grinning. Then, the entire Pirates’ dugout emptied as the team piled on top of the sophomore starter. Kuchmaner had just thrown his first career perfect game.

Maryland (15-6) struggled to produce offensively in the series finals Sunday, falling to No. 17 East Carolina 3-0. With the win, the Pirates swept the Terps for the second consecutive year.

Maryland didn’t get a runner on all game, as Kuchmaner kept the Terps hitless, giving up no free bases. He went the complete nine innings, striking out eight. It was the sophomore’s first complete game and first perfect game in his career with the Pirates.

A solo home run from Seth Caddell put the Pirates up 3-0, providing East Carolina with an insurance run, though Kuchmaner didn’t appear to need the additional run as he sent down the Maryland lineup in order again in the ninth.

“We knew he could really pitch,” Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn said of Kuchmaner after the game. “We just didn’t do a great job of making an adjustment. We let him keep getting us out the same way all day.”

Both teams were slow to start, and though East Carolina (10-8) put at least one runner on base in each of the first six innings, it wasn’t until the sixth that the Pirates pulled ahead and plated any of said runners, taking the 2-0 lead.

After a leadoff double from Spencer Brickhouse, one of East Carolina’s power-batters, a single to right field gave the Pirates runners on the corners with one out. Then, designated hitter Thomas Francisco roped a two-RBI double just out of the reach of a diving Chris Alleyne in right-center field.

With that, Maryland starter Trevor LaBonte’s day was done, and junior Elliot Zoellner took over for the freshman on the mound. LaBonte put up five scoreless innings for the Terps, pitching 5.1 total innings, striking out four on five hits, three walks and one hit-by-pitch.

“[LaBonte] gave us an unbelievable start,” Vaughn said. “[East Carolina] kind of fought some at-bats off and then got the one big swing, but Trevor did a great job.”

Zoellner’s experience as one of Maryland’s older relievers came into play against the first batter he faced, when Brady Lloyd sent a grounder up the middle with one out and a runner on third. Zoellner knocked the ball down, then ran toward the pinch-runner Jayne. the subsequent rundown provided the second out of the inning, allowing Zoellner to strike out the second batter he faced to end the half.

Five Maryland pitchers contributed in the Sunday matchup, giving up three runs on eight hits, striking out 11. Vaughn explained that all the Terps’ relievers did their job out of the bullpen, expressing his pride in how his pitching staff performed the majority of the weekend.

“It’s a little frustrating,” Maryland senior captain A.J. Lee explained, discussing the Terps offense’s inability to provide the pitching staff with run support. “But they’re going to have their bad days and we’re going to have to pick them up. I mean, we’re a team here and that’s kind of what we’re just focusing on.”

Maryland will look to regain momentum this week with a two-game midweek matchup at Elon, before facing Creighton next weekend.

“We’ve got to flush this,” Lee said. “The biggest thing is just to get back to the day-to-day…get back to our routine and our plan, and I think we’ll be fine.”

When Caleb Walls stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Terps trailed the Pirates 2-1 with two outs. Walls was Maryland’s last chance for a comeback. But the left-handed batter grounded out to second base, for the Terps’ second loss of the weekend.

After dropping the series opener 9-0 to the No. 17 East Carolina Pirates on Friday, Maryland came out strong on Saturday and held East Carolina to a one- run lead through eight innings. The Terps were unable to rally in the ninth, however, and lost 2-1 to the Pirates in College Park.

The Terps plated their first run of the series in the fourth inning Saturday, thanks to a combination of free bases from the Pirates and a one-out double from Taylor Wright. The third baseman Wright stole third, then stole home on a passed ball from Smith, cutting East Carolina’s lead to 2-1.

“I was just looking for something kind of out over the plate,” Wright said. “Luckily I found my way to second base, and when I got there it was one out so I was looking to just get to third, with one out I can score on a ground ball or sac fly…I got a pretty good jump there [and stole], and luckily the ball got past the catcher and we were able to score.”

Maryland seemed to carry its momentum into the fifth, when Terrapin starter Zach Thompson took down the East Carolina lineup in order to start the inning. Then Benjamin Cowles singled through the right side with one out, then took second on a ground out from Caleb Walls. But the Terps could not drive Cowles home, and a fly out ended the inning, stranding the freshman on second.

“You sense some frustration today,” Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn said after the loss. “[East Carolina starter Jake Smith] was really sinking the baseball today, so we got a lot of ground balls and it was really hard to elevate him today…I think we made it a little more complicated than it needed to be…when you have these opportunities that’s the difference.”

After stranding runners on first and second in the sixth inning, the Terps continued gaining momentum in the seventh, loading the bases with one out after the Pirates’ two-way player Alec Burleson walked two and hit one. But again, Maryland struggled to drive in its runners and stranded the bases loaded, still trailing by one run.

East Carolina jumped on Maryland early, taking the two-run lead in the second, after a single from Burleson, who started the game at first base, and a Turner Brown walk gave the Pirates two on and no outs. The Terps turned a 6-4-3 double play, giving the Pirates a runner on third with two outs.

But Maryland struggled to secure the elusive third out, and back-to-back singles from Brady Lloyd and Dusty Baker plated two runs before the Terps got out of the inning.

After East Carolina’s two-run second inning, the junior Thompson went eight innings for Maryland, including seven scoreless innings and six innings facing the minimum three batters. The righty struck out two while walking one and hitting two.

“I just wanted to get ahead and throw strikes,” Thompson said after the game. “They’ve got some special hitters on their team, so I just wanted to have 100 percent belief in what I was doing and let them hit the ball.”

Left-hander Andrew Vail relieved Thompson to start the ninth. The freshmen went one inning, striking out two and giving up one hit, and providing Maryland with the chance for a walk-off that never came.

“I thought Thompson was unbelievable,” Vaughn said. “You saw what [East Carolina] can do offensively last night off one of the bast arms in the country, and Thompson was flat out dominant today…I’m really proud of the way Zach threw the ball today.”

Vaughn also acknowledge that because Thompson lasted almost the full game, Vail only threw one inning, meaning the entire Terrapin bullpen would be available on Sunday, if needed.

After struggling to keep No. 17 East Carolina (13-5) off the board early, Maryland (10-6) failed to overcome the run deficit and dropped the series opener 9-0 on Friday in College Park. The Terps’ pitching staff fought for outs against the East Carolina lineup all night, while Maryland’s bats stayed cold in key moments.

Maryland pitchers held the Pirates to a six-run lead through seven, after East Carolina took a one-run lead in the first, off a sacrifice fly from first baseman Alec Burleson, and then put up a five-run third inning, including a three-run blast from Jake Washer, extending their lead to 6-0.

In the top of the sixth, East Carolina’s designated hitter Spencer Brickhouse stepped to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second. Then, a balk from Maryland’s starter Hunter Parsons moved both runners into scoring position, and Brickhouse had the chance to extend the Pirates’ 6-0 lead.

But, a heads-up play from the Terps’ designates hitter-turned first baseman Maxwell Costes shut down the two-out rally from the Pirates. Brickhouse sent a hard grounder down the first base line, which bounced straight up off the base.

Costes maintained his composure, however, fielding the ball and tossing it to Parsons, who beat the runner to the base for the final out of the inning.Parsons went six innings on Friday, during which he struck out two, walked two and hit two, giving up six runs on nine hits.

When freshman Sean Heine relieved Parsons to start the seventh, he faced the Pirates’ leadoff Burleson, who entered the game batting .469. Heine announced his presence on the mound and struck out Burleson swinging.

But, when Heine stayed in the game for the eighth, the top of East Carolina’s order took advantage of the young pitched, putting up a three-run inning. With two outs, a pair of hits brought one run across the plate after a double from Bryant Packard down the left-field line fell in front of a sliding Caleb Walls––the Terps’ junior left fielder.

Then, with one on and two outs, Spencer Brickhouse stepped to the plate. Four innings earlier, the East Carolina dug in the box in a similar situation; With a runner on first and one out, the designated hitter faced Parsons, looking to extend the Pirates’ lead.

When left-handed batter swung and missed a low pitch, Vought smoothly transferred the ball to his throwing hand, catapulting it to second where shortstop A.J. Lee snagged the ball, getting the second out of the fourth inning as a cheer arose from Maryland fans in the stands.

It was a different situation in the eighth, however, and Brickhouse sent a line drive over the right-field wall to give East Carolina a 9-0 lead.

Heine went 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and striking out one. Billy Phillips closed out the game for Maryland, pitching 1.1 innings, giving up one hit while striking out three.

Though the Terps struggled to put a run on the board, it wasn’t for lack of trying. It was shortstop A.J. Lee’s first game back from a calf injury that benched him for seven games, and the senior nabbed Maryland’s first hit of the night with a line-drive single to center field in the bottom of the third.

Maryland’s offense continued to warm up in the bottom of the fourth, after back-to-back singles from Taylor Wright and Maxwell Costes led off the inning. But East Carolina starter Jake Agnos recorded three straight outs, including two strikeouts, to keep the Terps off the board.

Six different Terrapin batters contributed to Maryland’s hits column in the series opener, each with a hit apiece. The Terps struck out 11 times, however, and struggled to connect against the Pirates’ pitching staff.

Though it took Maryland’s offense a few innings to warm up Wednesday against Delaware, once the Terps took the lead they stayed ahead, defeating the Blue Hens 11-6 in Newark, Delaware, for Maryland’s 10th win of the season.

The Blue Hens jumped out to an early one-run lead in the first inning, extending their lead in the second on a leadoff solo homer from Jack Goan and an RBI single from Erik Bowren.

The Terp’s offense––on a hot streak as of late–– showed out in the fourth inning. Maryland pounced on Delaware pitchers Joey Haass and Jack Dubecq, putting up four runs to take the lead. After a leadoff walk from sophomore Tommy Gardiner, senior Caleb Walls drove an RBI triple to the right-center field wall to put the Terps on the board.

Then, Randy Bednar drove in Walls with a single to left, and with two outs in the inning, Benjamin Cowles knocked a two-RBI double down the left-field line to score Bednar and Maxwell Costes to make the score 4-3.

Both offenses went cold for a few innings, until Maryland loaded the bases in the top of the eighth. With two outs, the two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Costes smashed a grand slam to left field, extending the Terps’ lead to 8-3.

Delaware pulled a little closer in the bottom of the eighth, capitalizing on a few walks and Maryland errors to put up a three-run rally.

But in the bottom of the ninth, after a wild pitch from Delaware pitcher C.J. Schaible allowed Sebastian Holte-Mancera to cross the plate, Chris Alleyne stepped in th ebox with one runner on and blasted his third home run of the season, giving Maryland an 11-6 lead.

Terrapin head coach Rob Vaughn heavily utilized his bullpen against Delaware again this week, starting sophomore Drew Wilden, but taking him out in the second inning with one out, after he gave up five hits and three runs.The lefty struck out three in his 1.1-inning outing. Freshman Will Glock entered for 1.2 innings, giving up one hit but walking three.

Juniors Tuck Tucker and Elliot Zoellner gave up only one hit combined, pitching two innings each. Nick Turnbull came in for Zoellner in the eighth, giving up three unearned runs in the inning. Freshman Daniel O’Connor came in for the ninth inning to give Maryland their 10th win of the young season.

Maryland will be challenged by No. 17 East Carolina this weekend for a three-game series in College Park.

Freshman reliever Andrew Vail entered the Terps’ series finale against the Hatters in an unusual spot. One of Maryland’s left-handed relievers, head coach Rob Vaughn usually brought in Vail to utilize the lefty-lefty matchup.

In Maryland’s 8-4 win over Stetson (6-9) in DeLand, Florida, on Sunday, however, the freshman took the mound in the seventh against a right-handed batter with a 2-0 count, two outs and bases loaded. In four pitches, Vail induced a groundout to shortstop Benjamin Cowles that stranded the bases loaded and minimized Stetson’s damage to Maryland’s 6-4 lead.

“Something this team does so well is turn negatives into positives,” Maryland closer John Murphy said after the game, discussing the bullpen’s rocky outings Saturday and Sunday.

Maryland’s bullpen struggled to keep Stetson off the bases on Sunday, a problem which compounded the Terps’ issues in their 12-7 loss on Saturday.

Part of the issue, Vaughn explained, is the youth of the bullpen. Maryland has a handful of freshman relievers who will come out strong, then something changes between innings and they aren’t the same their second time on the mound.

“They’re getting a little bit tired,” Vaughn said. “It’s something we’ve got to make an adjustment on, because those guys are way too good to get two outs and be done for the day.”

After relieving Maryland starter Trevor LaBonte in the sixth inning, freshman righty Will Glock faced the bottom half of Stetson’s lineup with runners on the corners and no outs. He struck out lefty Noah Dickerson before inducing two fly outs to end the half.

But just as quickly as he had found his groove, Glock lost it, walking the bases loaded with one out in the seventh. Only one of those walks resulted in a run, however, as Jacob Koos crossed the plate on a passed ball after Glock had exited the game. Terrapin reliever Nick Turnbull had the same issue, striking out the first Hatter he faced, but walking the next to keep the bases loaded. Then, it was Vail’s turn.

After Vail got Maryland safely out of the seventh, he remained on the mound for the eighth. But, after Vail gave up a leadoff double, closer John Murphy took over. The right-hander recorded six outs against eight batters-faced, including three strikeouts, ensuring Maryland’s series win.

“They’re all dudes,” Murphy said, referring to his fellow relievers. “They’ve succeeded already, especially the young guys, so I’m not too worried about them. They’ll get right back on track this week.”

On Saturday, defensive miscues added to the bullpen’s struggles to led to Maryland’s 12-7 loss. For Sunday’s rubber game, head coach Rob Vaughn returned to an earlier version of the Terps’ lineup––one with Michael Pineiro at first base, Caleb Walls in left field, and Maxwell Costes as designated hitter.

Those shifts provided LaBonte with a solid defense early, in front of which the righty recorded three strikeouts and four scoreless innings, with 12 of 15 Stetson outs coming from fly-outs. LaBonte started losing steam in the fifth and sixth, however, and Stetson cut into Maryland’s 6-run lead with one run in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Though the Terps struggled on the mound in later innings, the tighter defense gave Maryland’s offense breathing room early in the game. The Terps put up six runs in five innings, scoring at least a run apiece in each inning to take a 6-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. Then, a two-run eighth inning provided cushion for the struggling Terrapin bullpen, extending Maryland’s lead to 8-4.

All but two of the Terps’ RBIs came from the top of the order––the others came from sophomore catcher Justin Vought, who sent a solo shot to left-center field in the fifth inning, marking his second career home run.

As a freshman, Vought recorded two hits and seven RBIs in 69 at-bats. Now, taking over as the Terps’ main catcher, Vought has put up as many RBIs in just 44 at-bats.

“We wanted to shift some stuff up a bit,” Vaughn said, referring to various move sin the Terps’ lineup over the weekend. “We thought [Chris Alleyne] was giving us good at-bats…I didn’t think [two] homer were going to come out of it but man, he was huge.”

In his second game batting leadoff for the Terps, center-fielder Alleyne crossed the plate three times for Maryland, including two two-run blasts, the first over the left-field wall in the fourth, the second to right field in the eighth.

“[He] didn’t even start the first two games of the year,” Vaughn said. “So that shows you how dumb I am sometimes.”

Over the past year, Alleyne made a lot of smaller adjustments at the plate, the center-fielder said after the game, explaining that one minute change can make the biggest difference.

Those adjustments worked, evidently, and his two home runs Sunday marked Alleyne’s first as a Terp. Last year, in his first season with Maryland, Alleyne batted .080 in 14 games, seven of which he started. After Sunday’s game, Alleyne is hitting .275 in 13 games this season. In addition, the sophomore has as many home runs (2) in 2019 as he did hits in 2018.

“Everybody’s going to struggle,” Alleyne said. “But you’re going to see success if you just stick with it. I think I’m finally starting to see some success after struggling for a while.”

With their win Sunday, the Terps improve to 9-5 on the season, claiming Maryland’s first series win on the road since it took 2-of-3 at Michigan State in late April last year.

“We talk all the time that the next step for this team is taking care of business on the road,” Vaughn said. “We hadn’t really been great at that in the early season, [but] it feels good to get out of here with a good win.”